Inspired by salty-crunchy Sichuan dry-fried string beans (gan bian si ji dou), these green beans are shriveled and browned into delicious submission before receiving a flavor bomb of garlic, red pepper flakes, and chopped capers at the very end. Resist the urge to stir the beans around in the pan, and let them take on color like you would ground meat. Patience is essential here.

Recipe Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet over high until shimmering. Add green beans (the dryer they are, the less they will spatter when they hit the oil) and cook, covering skillet as needed if beans are spattering, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Turn beans with tongs and redistribute so they brown evenly (don’t toss them since hot oil can easily slosh out of skillet if you try to show off). Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over and tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with salt. Add garlic, capers, and red pepper flakes. Cook, tossing occasionally, just until garlic turns golden, about 1 minute.

Transfer beans to a platter. Spoon caper-garlic mixture over and pour some oil over too; season with salt.

Recipe by Chris Morocco

Reviews Section

Reviews

Mine weren't blistered, they were burnt. Olive oil starts smoking on high heat pretty quickly and the beans were burnt within three minutes.

AnonymousFresno, Ca04/28/19

My wife hates green beans, but she loves, loves, loves these. Slight modification I did was using Mrs Dash extra spicy pepper mix (vice red pepper flakes), and used whole caper berries with stems attached (vice regular capers) as it gives the eater more of a finger food experience being able to easily pick up the whole caper berry. Outstanding recipe . I usually do this with Shishito peppers when available, but when not available, this is my back-up plan. Well done again.

brent.lockwood8756Ottawa, Canada04/05/19

These were so good! Between two people we polished off almost a pound of these beans (and my SO is not that big of a vegetable fan). The crispy capers and garlic are delicious. I will definitely make these again. Definitely be sure to dry off the beans - I did not have a problem with splattering because I put mine through a salad spinner and then patted them dry with paper towels.

AnonymousNashville, TN03/17/19

My friend sent me this recipe and I’m sooo glad she did! This is a great way to fix fresh green beans. The cooking time is off a little as it took longer to cook the green beans but we’ll worth the wait! The flavor with the garlic, capers and red pepper flakes is outta this world! Will fix again!

RychewomanTexas03/12/19

Awesome green beans. If you make sure they are dry they don’t splatter. They taste greasy but take longer to brown than the receipt says. Well worth the wait though. Make a great way to fix fresh green beans. Will definitely make again. This serving was gobbled up with no leftovers!

AnonymousFt. Worth TX03/12/19

These beans are seriously life changing. The combo of the capers, garlic, and pepper flakes brings out a whole new set of flavors that I've never experienced eating green beans. The sweetness in the green beans is perfectly balanced with a nice heat in the back coming from the pepper and I can't get enough! Sure it might get oil everywhere, but to say it is worth it would be an understatement. Make these beans.

AnonymousAtlanta, GA03/05/19

Amazing flavors, very easy to prepare. My family loved it! Will definitely be making this again.

Anita459Portland, OR area02/19/19

So delicious and simple! Packs lots of flavor and freshness into a quick recipe. I’ve made it 3 times in the past week :)

AnonymousPortland, OR02/17/19

So. Dang. Good! I made this two nights in a row I loved it so much. I skipped the capers because I don't typically like them, but followed the recipe aside from that. Like another commenter, the cook time was longer than what the recipe suggested, but you can easily eyeball them to see when they are finished.

AnonymousTexas02/11/19

This was fantastic! I didn't add the capers (I don't really like them), and the garlic I added was minced, but regardless, this was amazing. I'm not sure following the times on the recipe is the way to go, since mine took a bit more time than what was called for, so just cook them 'til they look like the picture and you won't be disappointed!

AnonymousChicago, IL02/05/19

These were really good! I didn't have capers and am going to pick some up for next time. BUT the best part of this dish was the crispy fried garlic. OMG. Tip: do not rinse your greenbeans right before you make this OR make sure they are reallly, really dry. Mine were washed a few days ago and were totally dry and I only had minimal spatter.

AnonymousMadison01/29/19

At first I wasn't sure if I would ever make this again. The warning in the recipe about the potential for splattering is very real! While the green beans were cooking, the splattering oil was making a huge mess (even with a cover). But, once the cooking was done, the taste made it all worthwhile! This is a great recipe - especially for the vegan in our house. Next time I will add more capers (because you can never have too many crispy capers in a recipe).